


Looking for Answers

by TheSovereigntyofReality



Series: Time Travelling Son [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Gen, Not Peggy Friendly, Team Stark, Team Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:07:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21747907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSovereigntyofReality/pseuds/TheSovereigntyofReality
Summary: Howard, Jarvis, and Hazel start seeking out answers.They don't like what they find.
Relationships: Edwin Jarvis & Howard Stark & Original Female Character(s), Howard Stark & Tony Stark, Peggy Carter & Howard Stark
Series: Time Travelling Son [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1565638
Comments: 45
Kudos: 805





	Looking for Answers

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer: If you recognise it from somewhere else, it isn't mine.**

‘Okay, so how old’s Tony now?’ Hazel asked as she led Howard and Jarvis into the apartment she lived alone in since her husband had passed away.

‘Thirteen,’ Howard said.

‘Thirteen to his fifties,’ Hazel mused. ‘That gives us about forty years. Remember I went to that pay phone?’

‘Yes,’ Jarvis said. ‘You were on it for quite a while.’

‘That’s because I was calling Nepal,’ Hazel said. ‘There’s an ancient order out there with access to something called the Time Stone. From what I understand, only a select few people can actually touch it without going insane or dying – and even fewer can actually use it.’

‘Why do they have it?’ Howard asked.

‘They’ve been guarding it for centuries.’

‘So you asked about this?’ Howard nodded. ‘What did they say?’

‘The fact that Tony showed up in the past means that he invariably created a new timeline. Long and short of it is that we can actually change this if we can find the source of the thing that pushed Tony to create time travel.’ Hazel tossed her jacket over the back of her sofa. ‘We’re fortunate in that the current leader of the Order is capable of using the Time Stone. She’s gonna take a look and then call me back.’

‘In the meantime?’ Howard asked.

‘Well, what can we do in the meantime?’ Hazel said. ‘We haven’t the faintest idea where to begin. I doubt even you would know where to start with specs for time travel.’ She paused. ‘On the other hand, disasters, as I expect this will be, do not happen overnight.’

‘You think that it’s already started?’ Jarvis asked.

Hazel nodded once. ‘Most likely whatever forces Tony to develop time travel is the culmination of whatever’s happening now.’

Howard nodded and looked over. ‘Do you mind if I use your computer?’

‘Knock yourself out.’ Hazel gestured to it.

Howard walked over to the computer and switched it on.

‘What are you doing, sir?’ Jarvis asked.

‘Well, if it’s already starting then there’s got to be records somewhere,’ Howard said as he waited for the computer to boot up. ‘Where’s the most likely place to be doing something that’ll end up with time  
travel having to be an eventuality?’

‘The military?’ Jarvis asked.

Howard imitated a “wrong answer” buzzer.

‘S.H.I.E.L.D.?’ Hazel guessed.

‘Right. There are a few things Peg doesn’t want me looking at, but if she’s doing anything in there that might push this onto Tony’s shoulders, I’m going to go in and have a look around.’

Jarvis raised his eyebrows. ‘Without her knowing, sir?’

‘You forget, Jarvis. _I_ designed S.H.I.E.L.D.’s security systems.’

Hazel nodded and went into the kitchen. As Howard worked, she made one cup of coffee and one cup of tea. She walked out and handed Jarvis the tea and set the coffee down next to the keyboard. The self-made millionaire nodded in acknowledgement while Jarvis vocally thanked her.

‘Any luck?’ Hazel asked.

‘I’ve found a real long list of enhanced.’ Howard shook his head, eyes narrowed. ‘But I’ve never seen most of these guys before. And Peg’s got “contained” or “neutralised” next to their names.’

‘That worries me,’ Hazel said, leaning on the desk next to him.

‘Me too,’ Howard remarked.

‘Contained or neutralised?’ Jarvis asked. ‘You don’t suppose she’s been...?’

‘Give me two more minutes and we’ll know for sure.’ Howard’s fingers raced over the keyboard, inputting commands faster than either of his friends could follow. He bypassed the security measures meant to keep him out and got the entire Level 10 databank cracked open.

Hazel’s eyes widened. ‘Oh...shit.’

Howard’s eyes were hard and cold. ‘_This_ is what she’s using my money for? So much for the greater good!’

Hazel bit back the urge to point out that the phrase “the greater good” was a dead giveaway. After all, that indicated there was a lesser good. And who in the world had the right to decide that? Especially for other people. Instead, she said, ‘I guess she has a different definition of “the greater good” than you do.’

Jarvis walked over and gasped as he read what they had. ‘There are children in there?’

Howard nodded. ‘But how the hell does she justify this?’

‘Well, of course you can’t understand,’ Hazel remarked. ‘You genuinely want to make the world a better place. Always have.’

Howard looked up at her. ‘And she doesn’t?’

‘Trust me, the Blood Incident of ’46 has me convinced that she doesn’t.’

In his peripheral vision, Howard noticed Jarvis wince. He didn’t know when his butler had changed his mind about that, but he suspected it was about the time that Howard himself started seeing everything rotten about Peg’s system. He was pulled out of his thoughts, though, but Hazel’s musings.

‘It answers the question, at least.’

‘It does?’ Howard asked.

‘Sure. If Peg was gonna keep up doing this for the next 40 years, what do you suppose the enhanced community would have looked like at the end?’

Miniscule...tiny...barely there, if there at all.

‘That’s our natural defence against the shit hitting the fan,’ Hazel stated. ‘If some beyond-human threat came after us, they have the ability to fight it off. Unless, of course, some idiot decided to attack them if they wouldn’t work for her. And something would eventually come. No enhanced defence, and that’d leave it in the hands of the resident genius.’

‘Tony?’ Jarvis guessed.

‘Tony,’ Howard said.

‘And time travel was the last resort.’ Hazel looked at Howard.

He sighed and immediately started typing away at the computer.

The phone rang and Hazel moved over to answer it. ‘Hello? ...Oh, yeah. What have you got? ...Well, that’s interesting...Uh huh...Uh huh....Uh huh....Charming. Well, you keep yours under wraps and we’ll find the other one, I guess.’ She hung up.

‘So?’ Howard asked.

‘Well, it turns out the Time Stone is one of six Infinity Stones. Apparently, they survived the Big Bang.’

‘So they’re from the previous universe?’ Howard asked. ‘You’re right. That is interesting.’

‘Yeah, well, turns out they’re scattered across the cosmos. You get all six and you can twist the very fabric of reality to your whims.’

‘Isn’t that a bit dramatic?’ Jarvis asked.

‘If those things survived the Big Bang, I wouldn’t put anything past them,’ Howard said. ‘So, who’s after them?’

‘Some guy called Thanos. Apparently, he’s come to the conclusion that the universe is overpopulated. At the moment, he’s going around to planet killing half of all life. It’s occurred to him, however, that he won’t be able to do this to every single planet in the universe in his lifetime.’

‘So he’s trying to get these Infinity Stones to do it in one fell swoop,’ Howard concluded. ‘And Tony has to find a way to fix it.’ He pulled a face. ‘How do you fix death?’

‘You can’t,’ Hazel said. But if patterns continued, Hazel had a strong feeling he would be guilted into it. ‘But, there’s a second Infinity Stone on Earth. If we can find it and get it out of reach...’

Howard nodded. ‘Soon as I’m home I’ll look into what else Peg’s been using my money to do without telling me.’ He pushed back and turned in the chair. ‘Any idea what to look for?’

‘Well, we’re looking for something – probably in a housing unit of some description – that glows and punishes people for touching it directly. According to the Ancient One – I think it’s a title, but I don’t know her real name – they tend to kill by disintegrating the person grabbing it.’

Howard froze. ‘I think I know where it is.’

Hazel and Jarvis looked at him.

‘Well?’ Hazel asked.

‘The Tesseract.’

**Author's Note:**

> So, I decided to make these a series of one-shots.


End file.
